So this little thing was listed nearby recently, and despite having 20+ year old strings and completely neglected I was intrigued and thought this could be something. Brought her home, changed strings and cleaned it - and turns out I was right. Plays and sounds wonderful. The seller listed it as a '55, which I knew was wrong since the thing wasn't launched until 1956. In his defence he knew very little about guitars - he is a sound technician and apparantly the guitar has been used on some well known local albums, which is a nice curiosity.
Anyway, I found the serial and to me it looks like the 8 denotes a 1958 - but as info on these guitars is scarce I'd love some input from anyone in the know. AFAIK these guitars were built as catalog guitars for Sears and the like, and costs were cut all over. Apart from the fretboard, which is brazilian. Very easy playing and characteric sound from the lipstick pickups. I'm really happy with this one.
Some pictures:
Anyway, I found the serial and to me it looks like the 8 denotes a 1958 - but as info on these guitars is scarce I'd love some input from anyone in the know. AFAIK these guitars were built as catalog guitars for Sears and the like, and costs were cut all over. Apart from the fretboard, which is brazilian. Very easy playing and characteric sound from the lipstick pickups. I'm really happy with this one.
Some pictures: